DIY Peter Pan's Shadow Costume (or Just a Regular Peter Pan Costume)

Looking for a creative, simple, no-sew Halloween costume?  Make this easy Peter Pan Shadow costume in just a few minutes!  It's the perfect costume idea for any Disney or Peter Pan fan.

My children don't get to dress up for Halloween at their schools.  Instead, around here, we have the Literature Day Parade.  A day to dress up in a costume of a character from a favorite book (coincidentally timed right at Halloween!).  It's always fun, but this year, I think we have what will probably be my favorite DIY costume of all time.

Peter Pan's escaped shadow!  And it's so, so easy.  Basically a no-sew project.  And sure, you could make it in classic Peter Pan colors and just be Peter Pan, but really, who could resist being a mischievous shadow for Halloween (or Literature Day)?

It all starts with a black morphsuit.  I was kind of worried that my girls (I got one for each of them) wouldn't like wearing them, but I couldn't get them to take the suits off!  I bought mine from Amazon.com.   

Peter Pan's Shadow Costume Hat:

I wrote a post a few months ago about how to make a felt Peter Pan hat.  It was an easy thing just to make one in black this time.  This was the only sewing I did in the entire costume, though really, you could get away with just using a glue gun.

Peter Pan Shadow Costume Tunic:

To make the tunic, start with a rectangle of felt.  I measured my daughter to figure out roughly how large I wanted it to be.  I knew I wanted it to be a few inches wider than her shoulders on either side (for a grand total of 22 inches), and about 25 inches long.  Cut the rectangle out of a folded piece of felt, so the rectangle is double thickness.  The fold of the fabric will be the top of the tunic.

Next, it's time to cut the V-neck opening in the tunic.  Fold the fabric rectangle in half again, so that the fabric is now four layers thick.  Up at the top, where you find the folded edges, cut a smallish diagonal line.  This creates a diamond shaped neck hole with one easy cut.  Start small--you'll need to cut away less than you'd think, and you can always cut away more.

Cut jagged edges around the top where the arms will be.

I tapered it in a bit so there'd be less bulk in the armpit area, too.  make the same kinds of jagged edge cuts at the bottom of the tunic.

Cut a long strip of felt to act as a belt for the tunic.  Then just put the tunic on, cinch the belt, and voila, it's a great looking Peter Pan costume!  And not a stitch or hem to be seen.

Peter Pan Costume Felt Sword:

I decided that the belt needed a shadowy felt sword, so I just freehanded this little one.  I cut a tie-shaped piece--three of them, actually, for extra thickness and stability.  Then I just used the hot glue gun to adhere the layers together.  

The guard of the sword was just two layers.  I cut that piece on the fold of the felt so I'd be able to just thread it on the belt and not worry about having to sew it on or attach it with glue.

Ta da!  A Peter Pan shadow costume, ready to escape, play, and be on the lookout for bars of soap and sewing kits ready to put a stop to all the fun.